An Innovation Paradigm in a Learning Community

Abstract

Project Management offers the opportunity to continuously learn as clearly pointed to by such activities as project evaluations or retrospectives. However, it does require a conscious decision to do so, thus reserving time and space and effort. The article presents and concludes, from the context and practice in the Dutch Government, that consciously embedding a learning perspective as part of any typical high risk and large project or program can be a major contributing factor towards the (perception of) success thereof. To-date a community of over 450 peer and trained reviewers have come to grow supporting the path through combining the controlling, efficient and learning perspectives towards a performing organization. The article concludes that this where the Senior Responsible Owner of the project plays a key role to determine the balance with all the control measures to be selected and to be deployed, as well as the drive for efficiency in running the project.